3.23.2014

The Queen and Beaver Public House

01.22.14

It’s spring! Though from the view outside
my windows, it looks anything but. Toronto’s been hit with an
uncharacteristically harsh winter this year. How do you deal with it? You eat
hibernation-worthy food. GAINS. I’d like to think of winter as bulking
season…even though I really should never be bulking. Anyways, for your next
cheat meal / big dinner, I’d strongly suggest this place: The Queen and Beaver Public House (@QueenBeaverPub).

From the photos I see online, the space is really cozy! I didn’t walk
around the restaurant because we were seated in a semi private dining room that
was a straight shot from the doors. For all the sports fans, there are 2 bars
and a sports screening room upstairs! In the summer, you can chill out on their
2 patios as well.

#TeamBurgerEaters unite! Once again, just like last time at Bestellen, we
were sidetracked by the “family-style” meal offering (check out their feasting menu here). It’s been awhile since we’ve
actually eaten burgers together.

Big thanks to Joe for organizing this one. :D We had a veritable feast
that evening. Because of our big group (I think we were 12), we were able to
split two feasting menus by ordering 6 portions of each: the Venison Stew and
Dumplings ($24pp) and the Roast Rib Eye of Bison ($36pp).

Amazing. The servers came around a few times at the beginning, asking if we
wanted to order a few apps before the main show. We looked at the menu, some
things looked pretty good, but we were hungry and wanted to get straight to the
MEAT.

The Venison Stew and Dumplings
arrived first in an impressive Le Creuset dutch oven.

Sides of veggies came next and was closely followed by the Roast Rib Eye of Bison. After some
frantic photo-taking (there were 5 food bloggers at the table…), it was finally
time to chow down!

For a bunch of ravenous diners, we were so civil! Distributed the dishes
between everyone before we dug in. :D Here's was my plate. Oof the bison was so
good. The venison stew and dumplings were a good compliment but the bison was
the best part for me.

Too bad the feasting menus don’t include
dessert. No matter, we’ll order our own! The dessert menu has two categories:
puddings and ice cream. Bahaha So British! Anyways, a bunch of us ordered
different desserts. The sticky toffee pudding is classic and always a crowd
pleasure. It didn’t make sense to order desserts for the whole table so instead,
we just paired up to get our sweet tooth fix on! These next desserts were
shared between 4 of us.

Spotted Dick w/ citrus & crème
anglaise (8)

Cue the dirty jokes. I’d say our group was really tame…had I been with my
friends from dragonboat, the comments would’ve gotten a lot more inappropriate.
What it actually is, is a pudding with dried fruit in it (currants in this
case) served with custard. I enjoyed the citrus in there.

Sticky Toffee Pudding &
Vanilla Ice Cream (8)

Classic. I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad one. This one was no
exception. As far as I know, the ice creams are all made in-house.

Tafferty Pie w/ Cinnamon Ice Cream
(8)

Another dessert that we didn’t recognize on paper. As far as it looks, it
seemed to be a layered apple pie with a sweet piecrust. Perfect texture. I
really liked how the apple slices still had some bite to them and weren’t
mushy. The cinnamon ice cream is smart! This I could’ve had it all to myself.
And to be more secretive about how much of a fatty I am at heart, I’ll probably
make it at home and eat it in secret with the fam. No one will know about how
I’ll bake two tafferty pies and ate one by myself! MUAHAHHAAHAHAHHAAHA
HANDSOME!! (
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Verdict: As far as family-style meals go, the ones at The Queen
and Beaver aren’t as embellished by sides but they cook the meat very well and that’s
the point. They were very organized and prompt so no hangry outbursts from any
of us. The space is cozy, quiet—tucked away just off of the busiest
intersection of Yonge. I’d certainly recommend you check them out! I’m sure he
gets the same questions a dozen times a day but the server was still very
patient in explaining the puddings to us (THANKS!).

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About Me

Hey, I'm Carmen and thanks for stopping by! I'm interested in all things food-related. Here, I'll be sharing my food adventures with you. The idea is to give you a taste of what to expect and hopefully, if you like what you see, you'll check out the restaurant / try the recipe too!
I spend my days at school, in the bakery, in the gym, on a boat or hermitting indoors studying. Eating out is a privilege that I appreciate and when the opportunity comes along, YOU GOTTA TAKE IT. Happy eating! :D